Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, right, is injured as he gets a stick caught in his skate during the first period Friday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at Honda Center. How long he will be out is yet to be determined. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

ANAHEIM – Life without Cam Fowler began for the Ducks on Friday night but their leader on defense is just the latest star they’ve had to live without.

It has been an assembly line of the injured that has run since the early part of the summer. Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen were joined by Ryan Kesler. And as the season began, the line has been occupied by Ryan Miller, Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Eaves.

Now it is Fowler. How long they’ll be without him is yet to be determined. The Ducks will only report that he has a lower-body injury, though it was clear that his right knee may be the affected area in the way that his leg buckled as he twisted himself to protect the puck from Montreal center Phillip Danault.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said Saturday that Fowler underwent an MRI as part their overall assessment to see how much damage exists. Carlyle would not address whether or not the injury is season-ending in nature until he met with the medical staff.

The worst-case scenario is something to not consider at this point. The early feeling is that it may not be.

“We don’t try to look at those scenarios, especially from a player’s health standpoint,” Carlyle said. “We’re always trying to minimize. We have good medical people here and capable trainers here that have found ways to get people back the right way. And really that’s the next stage.

“The assessment is first and then the rehab and the steps that are going to be necessary (are next). And then the player himself. Some people’s bodies heal quicker than others. It’s what the individual and what our people (do), the recipe that they put together as far as bringing him back into our lineup.”

Fowler has been a big-minute defender and offensive leader on the Ducks’ blue line for eight seasons but his career has been pockmarked by knee injuries that have taken him out for significant stretches.

He has avoided the dreaded ACL injury but there was an MCL sprain to his left knee in 2014 and a right knee sprain in 2016. The right one was affected again last spring when Calgary’s Mark Giordano hit him, knocking him out of the subsequent first-round sweep of the Flames.

The silver lining this time is the timing. Not only did it come in the opening weeks of the season but the Ducks could get Lindholm back for Tuesday’s game at Philadelphia. And Vatanen, according to Carlyle, could play some time on their four-game trip.

“You don’t replace certain players,” Carlyle said. “It has to be done by committee. We have two pretty good defensemen that are about to come back into our lineup at any time. They can chew minutes. And the guys that are here, they’re going to be expected again to shore up.

“When they get an opportunity to play in some of the situations they haven’t played in a while, they’re going to be expected to perform.”

The Ducks pulled together Friday, getting contributions from several unlikely sources in a 6-2 win over the Canadiens. But this season’s painful opening month is going to reveal how strong of a group they are.

“You’re always getting tested throughout the course of the season,” Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. “The good teams and the teams that make the playoffs are the ones that can survive these kinds of injuries.

“There’s other teams that suffer – (Erik) Karlsson went down for Ottawa at the start of the season. There’s teams that go through significant pieces of their team missing long parts of the season. You have to have guys step up, guys play more minutes and survive as a team.

“This will be our test now.”

The never-ending run of injuries may have Carlyle and others wondering when enough’s enough. But they’re trying to look beyond that and do the best with what they’ve got.

“At this point, we’re vulnerable,” Carlyle said. “But, hey, that’s sports. There’s nothing we really can do about it other than work with the people that you have here. Build the group up. Try to create that structure and that work ethic that’s required.

“It’s early in the season. Be relevant. Don’t just go by the wayside and say, ‘Hey, we can’t do this.’ We can. We’re not about can’t. We can.”

GREEN MEANS GO

All that is stopping Getzlaf from returning to the lineup is the captain telling Carlyle that he is good to go. The center went through a demanding skate Saturday as he tries to get beyond a nagging lower-body injury that’s knocked him out for three games following his initial attempt to play.

“He’s progressing,” Carlyle said. “I talked to him this morning practice and yesterday. He felt as strong as he’s felt since the injury. … We’ll practice Monday in Philly and he’ll give us the green light if he’s available on Tuesday night. And the same thing with Hampus.”

Patrick Eaves (lower body) will not make the trip. Eaves played in two games before he aggravated an injury that plagued him since early in training camp.

Eric Stephens has been covering the Ducks and the NHL for news outlets since 2005 and for the Orange County Register since 2009. Now happily spreading the hockey gospel throughout the Southern California News Group. Has covered three Stanley Cup Finals and (sadly) one NHL lockout. Once took up an invitation to a fan's tailgate barbecue at the College World Series. Has all sorts of genres on his iPod and tries his best in whatever he does most of the time. Only the grits at Waffle House come close to his. Eternal goal: Be better.